Bethlehem Man 'Critical' After Fall From Bridge Police

A 27-year-old Bethlehem man was admitted to Lehigh Valley Hospital Center yesterday afternoon after he apparently jumped from the northern end of the Main Street ramp of the Hill-to-Hill Bridge.

David Lipken of 29 W. North St. received multiple injuries in the 42-foot fall from the bridge to a grassy area near the wooden footbridge over the Monocacy Creek. He was in critical condition last night.

Bethlehem police were notified that a man had jumped from the ramp close to where it meets Main Street near the Hotel Bethlehem at1:15 p.m. Patrick McArdle of Bethlehem said he was driving on the ramp when he saw Lipken standing on the north sidewalk.

McArdle said that, to his surprise, Lipken placed his hands on the parapet and vaulted over the wall. McArdle flagged down an officer at Main and Market streets. "I told him I must be nuts, but a guy just jumped off the bridge," McArdle said.

Nick Baxevane, who was working at the Musikfest main tent site just across the Monocacy Creek, said he saw the man fall through the air and hit the ground.

Lipken was taken by city ambulance to Pfeifle Field on E. Broad Street, where the MedEvac helicopter landed to transport him to the hospital center.